Chad Mason Explores Big Sky Country on “Montana”

On Friday, Chad Mason released a self-titled EP consisting of six personal and emotive songs that explore sadness, the passage of time and redemption. One of these songs, a single titled “Montana,” falls into that fold and resonates like a wind sweeping across the Big Sky itself.

In a statement provided to American Songwriter, the song is described as “the story of a man longing to return to a place and a partner that time has distanced him from. Raw, open and honest, Mason’s references are subtle, adherently steering the listener to Jim Harrison’s book of poetry, Songs of Unreason.”

Mason’s sound is one of unadulterated American loneliness, which is a curious feat for an Australian born musician. With the help of Rainee Blake — of the CMT show Nashville — singing backing vocals and a soaring pedal steel guitar, “Montana” comes alive and conveys a complex sense of longing for a lost ideal from the past.